Fire Angel

by Susanne Matthews

  “Exactly and having two of them in a prayerful position in front of a priest could be asking for forgiveness. I know I’m reaching here, but ... It’s just a theory. I’ll know more after I see the crime scenes, but it gives you a potential starting place for an MO. If I’m right, he leaves nothing to chance, which tells me something must’ve gone wrong in the garage. Those places are filled with unexpected combustibles. Let’s assume I’m right. Fire Angel selects the accelerant he feels suits the crime of those he’s punishing. He poses them, like scenes in a drama, and then lets the fire mete out his justice.” She chewed her lower lip, realized she was doing it, and stopped. “What do you think?”

  “I like it. This is the first thing that’s made sense to me in all this. If that’s the case, we’d better figure out who he is fast. I had a look at all of the complaints and small claims court settlements. There are a lot of people out there who feel cheated.”

  Tawny delivered breakfast, and Alexis’s mouth watered.

  “Let’s eat while it’s hot,” Jake said. “We can talk more after.”

  “You won’t get an argument from me,” she answered, reaching for the catsup bottle.

  Once they’d both cleaned their plates, Alexis sat back.

  “That was just what I needed this morning. As much as I hate to do it, I guess we need to get back to shop talk. Have you given any thought to who might’ve left that note for me? Randy, I think that’s what you called the bus boy, said someone left it on his cart.”

  Jake nodded. “If I’d known that Fire Angel or anyone working with or for him was in the room, I would’ve strangled him with my bare hands. I’ve asked Minette to go through the receipts and the reservation book from last night and see if there’s a name that rings a bell. I didn’t notice any new faces or any one that I would’ve been surprised to see. There were a few truckers here early in the evening since the weather wasn’t so good—but there’s no way any of them would’ve followed you. They were here before you were. We had a family with car trouble ... again, with two toddlers in tow, he wasn’t driving on the logging road. Then there was Reverend Lewis, the Baptist minister. He brought his wife Marcy with him to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary.” He closed his eyes as if he were trying to picture the dining room last night.

  “Andrew Shillingham was here. He’s our doctor and looks after the clinic. Right now he’s doing double duty since the coroner is on extended vacation. He was in Ottawa all week. Drove back yesterday, but that’s in the opposite direction. We usually play chess on Sunday nights, but he begged off. Just as well since it gave us time to talk.” He drank some of his coffee. “Allan and Mildred were here, but you spoke to him. That leaves Harold and Phil Taylor, two crusty old brothers, both bachelors, who own adjacent farms on the outskirts of town. They’re constantly complaining about government interference in farming. Don’t get them started on milk quotas. Believe me, unless you’re a Holstein or a Guernsey, they won’t give you the time of day.”

  She chuckled. “Thanks for the warning. I noticed four men sitting over by the window,” she said, finishing her glass of juice.

  “Those guys are part of a six-man bowling team. They played in the afternoon. Minette plays too, so I dropped in. The four of them were there, so they couldn’t have been following you. Your plane was late landing, right?”

  She nodded. Because of the weather, she’d been delayed four hours in Toronto.

  “They’re Sunday night regulars,” Jake continued. “Charley Plunkett, the local mortician, was here as was Ian Scott, a hunting guide and taxidermist, Dwayne Crites, who manages the pest and animal control business in town, and Calvin Ketchum, manager of the local sporting goods store. One of the guys missing was Ansel Curtis, the local veterinarian. He’s been spending a lot of time with Duffy’s sister-in-law. Her husband was killed in the fire. Apparently, I’m the only one in town who didn’t know they were having an affair.”

  She chuckled. “Some people would say minding your own business is a good thing, especially in a place like this where gossip isn’t just a spectator sport.”

  Jake grinned. “I agree. Now if we could only convince Lynette of that. Right now, Ansel’s on my suspect list. I waited for you to get here to question him. The last guy missing was Frank Arthur. He moved back to Paradise about four years ago, I think. You might remember him. He went to school with us and operates the mobile canteen in town which supplies coffee to the police station among other places. Minette hired him to do odd jobs around here, too, and since I can’t hunt anymore, he supplies the game for the Temagami specials she offers. She’ll be providing more of them this week with the delegates here. Frank’s mother moved to Wasaga Beach to be with her sister last year. The woman fell and broke her hip. Flora went to help and stayed. He left Friday and won’t be back until tomorrow. He told Lynette he wasn’t sure he’d be back in time for the morning coffee run but had arranged for the part-timer to handle it.”

  Alexis poured herself another cup of coffee. “Frank sounds familiar, but I’ve done my best to wipe those memories from my mind,” she admitted. “Did you consider anyone else?”

  “I interviewed Ian, Sam, and Ralph Willard, the guy who puts out the local paper, as well as a few people who had laid complaints against the two handymen killed in the fire, but nothing stuck. If Fire Angel is a revenge arsonist, half the people in town could be him. I can’t even eliminate the women. I need to narrow the list, and I need to do it soon. Maybe once you have a look at the scenes, I’ll be able to.” He leaned back in his chair, stretched his legs into the aisle, and reached for his cup of coffee. “If you’re right, what other things can be used as accelerants?”

  “All hydrocarbon-based fuels, flammable liquids like cooking oil, acetone, alcohol, nail polish remover, butane, aerosols, even hand sanitizer. Anything that burns can be used to make fires burn harder and faster, but that won’t make them burn hotter, at least not for any length of time. The fuel does that. For example plain newspaper, the kind with black ink, burns better than the colorful advertising flyers just as dry wood is more efficient than green wood. Propane gas may burn hotter than oxygen gas, but the more oxygen you add to a fire, the hotter it burns. That’s just basic chemistry.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “In other words, it’s a long list.”

  “It is, and a lot of that stuff is readily available. We aren’t talking weapon-grade uranium here. That’s why fire is often the weapon of choice. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. It’s not your fault. On another matter, you won’t be left in the dark tonight. I’ve asked Minette to give you a couple of emergency lamps, the kind that revert to battery power if the electricity goes out as it tends to do in bad weather. If you don’t mind my asking, how did you pick up that little idiosyncrasy about the dark?”

  She shrugged, trying to downplay the terror. “Last spring, a man set fire to a tenement in Los Angeles. No one told him that there were still people living there, or so he claimed. I figured out how the fire started and behaved, and because of my expertise, he was arrested. He had powerful friends who tried to stop me from testifying. One of them was waiting in my hotel room one night. If the guy had been a better shot, I’d be dead. I survived; they were arrested. The reason I couldn’t get here sooner was because I was testifying against them. Now, I carry a gun of my own, but unfortunately, I’ve developed this hang-up about entering dark rooms.” She took a mouthful of her coffee.

  “No wonder you were spooked last night. I don’t suppose too many fire scenes have restored power. It must be pretty dark in some of those places.”

  “True, but I carry a couple of powerful flashlights. It’s all good.” She finished her coffee and set the cup down on the table. “I suppose we should get the show on the road. I really want to see the cabin in the bush. If the terrain’s too rugged for you, maybe you could get a uniformed officer to go with me? I’m not foolhardy enough to go alone.”

  “I’ll take you,” Jake sa
id, standing and dropping a five-dollar-bill on the table. “Breakfast is on the house, but I still tip the staff. I’ve been out to the cabin. I can’t go everywhere, but I’m a damn fine lookout. Besides, I’m your partner, remember?”

  “I do, and that’s fine with me. I’ll go to the washroom first, and then we can get out of here,” she said, knowing she might not be able to answer Mother Nature’s call in the middle of nowhere. The cabin probably had an outhouse, but there was no way she would willingly use one of those smelly, spider-infested places, yet three cups of coffee plus orange juice were a lot of liquid to lug around. “I won’t take long. Do you want to use my car or yours?”

  “Mine’s better for the road to the cabin. We can use yours tomorrow if you like. When you finish, we’ll go to the station, too. I can introduce you to Lynette and find out who else she might’ve talked to, and get you logged in so you can access all of the case materials on your computer even from here. Our Internet server does a great job. Besides, Everett needs that note. I need to get my coat and tell Min we’re leaving. I’ll call and let Ev know our plans. Do you have everything you need?”

  She nodded and pointed to the bright pink tool kit on the floor under her coat.

  “My fire kit is fully equipped. It even glows in the dark. I’m good.”

  “Okay. I shouldn’t be long. I’ll meet you at the front entrance.”

  Alexis watched him go through the doorway he’d used last night. No doubt it led to his personal quarters. After using the facilities, she put on her coat and went to the designated spot to wait. Once they finished at the cabin, she hoped they could stop somewhere in town to get a hat and some gloves. While it wasn’t as cold as it had been last night, that was probably a temporary condition.

  * * *

  Jake pulled his SUV up to the front of the inn and shoved the gear shift into park but didn’t turn off the engine.

  “Nice wheels,” Alexis said, opening the passenger door. “Wish I’d been driving something like this yesterday. Definitely more road worthy than my little red coupe.”

  A soft woof from the back seat drew her attention. Once Maya knew a person, she expected to be acknowledged, too.

  “Hi, girl. I didn’t know you were joining us. Smart,” Alexis said, indicating the animal seatbelt assembly, a broad grin on her face.

  “I bought that just after I got her,” Jake explained, knowing his caution for the dog’s safety might seem ridiculous to some. “It’s expandable, so as she grew, so did it. She’s so used to it now, I doubt she’d travel in the car any other way. It keeps her safe and comfortable, and she can move around a little, but if I stop suddenly, the belt and harness will keep her in place. It might seem like overkill, but this little lady is very important to me.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir here. I agree that animals need to be restrained in vehicles. I’m just surprised to see her with us.” Alexis placed her kit at her feet and tied her seatbelt.

  “I’ve brought her along for protection. That nose of hers is highly sensitive. She’ll let us know if we have any unwelcomed visitors—not the two-legged kind, although she’ll know if they’re around—but those with four legs. The cabin is on an isolated section of the river, just up the road from here. We’ve got wolves and cougars in the area and since the weather’s been unseasonably mild, not all of the bears have gone into hibernation. I saw one of them near the garbage dump a couple of days ago.” He secured his own seatbelt. “The river bends just a short distance away from here which is probably why no one saw the smoke that night. It’s pretty secluded.”

  “I can imagine,” she answered, chewing her lip.

  He’d seen her do it before. A nervous or anxious gesture?

  “I felt alone when I saw Bullwinkle, something I now know to be false, and if there are wolves, cougars and bears, then bringing the dog is a good idea. I’m definitely not ready to meet one of those.”

  He noted the frown on her face. “Neither am I. Don’t worry. Maya will keep us both safe. Hopefully, if she smells one, and he hears her barking, he’ll go the other way.” He reversed the vehicle, and drove out of the parking lot, turning left away from the town. “I spoke to Ev, and he’ll expect us after lunch. Since I don’t know how long this will take, I wanted to give you plenty of time at the scene. By the way, Minette said the weatherman’s calling for rain later this afternoon.”

  “Then it’s a good thing we’re going now. Mother Nature is one of my biggest enemies.” She huffed out a breath. “She destroys more evidence than anyone. How far is it?”

  “About fifteen miles from here. Should only take about twenty minutes to get there. By the way, I brought something for you. Look under the box of gloves. I printed it off last night. It’s the file for the cabin fire with the picture the techs took before they moved the body. I thought you might like to look at it before you go inside.”

  She lifted the box and picked up the file. “Thanks.”

  Opening the folder, she pulled out the photographs one at a time and examined them.

  “The cadaver’s in better shape than I expected,” she said, pointing to the charred body on the bed. “When the roof collapsed it smothered the flames, preserving the body.” She pointed to something on the photograph. “If it hadn’t, there wouldn’t have been much left to autopsy.” She slipped the pictures back into the folder. ‘I’ll send you copies of what I take to add to the file. You can get them printed at the station, I assume?”

  “Yes. Hang on. The road’s rough,” he said as he turned onto a rutted country lane.

  “This is a road?” She grabbed the bar above the door to steady herself.

  He chuckled. “It was probably in better shape before the cabin’s owner was killed.”

  “Killed? How?”

  “Supposedly tripped and shot himself with his own rifle. It looks like an accident ... I’ve had a look at the report. It could just as easily have been an argument over trap lines. Despite the attitude toward fur in the United States and parts of this country, they’re still quite popular elsewhere, especially in China. We’re here.” He pulled the truck to a stop on the edge of the clearing. “I don’t want to go any closer in case I contaminate the scene,” he said. “I’m not sure what you want me to do. Can I help outside the cabin? If you tell me what to look for ... I brought my quad cane and gloves. I’m sure the techs did a thorough job.”

  “Then, let’s get to work,” Alexa said, getting out of the vehicle and pulling her toolkit out after her. I need to get covered up before I go in there.” She pulled a yellow rubberized coverall out of the kit. “It isn’t pretty, but it does the job.” She removed her jacket and stepped into the coveralls that molded to her like a second skin.

  “Will you be warm enough?” he asked since it didn’t look as if she would be putting her coat back on.

  “Oh yeah. Once the adrenaline kicks in, I’ll probably sweat up a storm. Why don’t you tie Maya over there on the far edge of the clearing? Then you can start looking through the grass for signs that someone was here.” She reached into her toolkit and removed a plastic evidence bag.

  “You really do have everything in there.” He chuckled.

  “I do, and as I told you, my pretty pink box glows in the dark.” She zipped the coverall up. “Since the grass hasn’t been cut, you’ll have to dig down. Look for things like cigarette butts, gum, anything that might show he was here watching. If you don’t find anything in the grass, check by the river in case he came in by boat. Remember. If he’s a pyromaniac, he had to watch it burn. I’m going to walk the perimeter, and then go inside.”

  “Yes, boss.” He saluted before reaching for her arm as she turned to move away from him.

  “Be careful.” He looked around. “Ev knows were here, but no one else does. That doesn’t mean Fire Angel hasn’t been watching. He could’ve seen us leave the inn. It wouldn’t have taken much to figure out where we were going. Checking out the crime scene isn’t exactly minding your own business.
If he realizes you’re ignoring his warning, he’s going to be pissed.”

  “I know,” she said, nodding. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

  He reached into the back seat for Maya and unbuckled her, snapping her leash on before leading her away from the site. She would have some business to do before he tied her up. He had to trust Alexis knew what she had to do, too.

  Chapter Eleven

  Alexis looked around the clearing and swallowed. Few places made her truly uncomfortable, and while she didn’t need people around her all the time, she did need to know they were nearby. This place wasn’t just secluded, it was desolate.

  Jake’s words a few minutes ago reminded her of how truly vulnerable she was, the way she’d been that night in her hotel room last spring, especially now that she couldn’t see him or Maya. She shook herself. This wasn’t the time to go down that road. If she let that threat bother her, she gave him control, and if she did that, he won. It was still a nice sunny morning and, since she couldn’t sense anyone watching her, what could possibly go wrong?

  Glancing around the area, she pictured an A-frame like her cabin at the inn. This place could be beautiful and romantic, given the right companion and a few modern touches. The image vanished, replaced by the burned-out shell. For an older man by himself, it must’ve been lonely and isolated. He had family. What had possessed him to stay here alone like this?

  The front part of the cabin had sustained more damage than the back. What remained of the structure faced west and the river, sand reaching to within five feet of the bottom step of what was left of the veranda. A canoe and a rowboat lay on the ground by its edge, the grass and weeds grown so high as to almost engulf them. The clearing itself extended about twenty yards in each of the other three directions. To the north and east, gentle slopes were heavily brushed and would provide a good vantage point not only to watch the fire but to watch them. Still, a pyromaniac would want to be closer to the action. The south side, where the road was and where they’d entered the clearing, was flat with a lot of brush and trees. If the killer wanted to observe them, he had his choice of locations.